Battle of Methrast
"Lo! Lo mi brethren! The tydes 're turnin', for waken win's 're, the enemy flies! Victory shalt ours be!" ''- Sammahil Edhelion The '''Battle of Methrast' ("Dagor-o-Methrast" in Sindarin), also called the Siege of Methrast ("Eithad-en-Methras't") or the ,,'Battle of the Fiery Ships" (,,Dagor-ni-Lhuntiolf"), was a major siege and battle that was a part of the 3rd Umbar-Gondor war, which was on it's own a crucial event of the Southern Theatre of the War of the Ring. It took part between the Kingdom of Umbar, supported by Khand and Mordor, and the Province of Belfalas in Gondor. It served as a crucial turnpoint of the tide in the war, as it was the first really great victory Gondor managed to achieve over Umbar, aswell as resulting in massive losses for Umbar in terms of troops, resources and strategic locations. For the next 2 months, no corsairs would be seen sailing along the coasts of Belfalas and it was not until nearly two years later that Umbar managed to acquire their initial goal of sailing up the Anduin. Versions of the battle There exist many different accounts of this battle, but the most prominent of them are the accounts of the middle earth historians Isil and Andes, both basing their knowledge on eyewitnesses, military reports aswell as further research and while there are also several other sources, such as poems, conversations or strategic discussions in other works of the Legendarium, they prove to be mostly rudimentary, rawly estimated or, in the case of poems and tales, exaggerated. However there is also a great amount of discussion concerning the two 'legitimate' accounts, as there has never truly been an omnipresent description of the battle in any part of the Legendarium. As such both Isil and Andes, while already giving a good overview, aren't a hundred percent correct and may both differ from what really happened. In the case of Isil it is the continuos use of euphemism aswell as his very undetailed and unrustworthy approach on the role of the forces of Mordor during the battle. In the case of Andes it is his estimations of troops and casualties that sometimes let his writings seem more like a horror story than an actual account, as he was reportedly heavily moved and influenced by reports of soldiers and civilians and therefore depicts the battle not only as slightly bigger but also much more negative and destructive than Isil does. Campaign background In the beginning of the year 3016, 23 years into the War of the Ring, the raids and attacks on the coasts of Gondor renewed, following the passing of the winter's cold climate. Since the 25th of Nénimë, ten thousands of corsairs and other factions supported by Sauron attacked the coasts nearly daily. The battle was therefore proceeded by several other attacks alongside the coasts of Anfalas, Belfalas, Dor-En-Ernil, Dol Amroth and Tolfalas and thus was not unexpected. However the Battle of Methrast not only was one of the nine true full scale battles during this time, it also was by far the greatest and most important of them, as the strategic position and the fortified and productive havens of the city proved to be extremely capable of fending off the corsairs from their main goal, which was reaching the mouths of the Anduin and then sailing them up to support Sauron's troops in Ithilien and raid all the way up to Lossarnach. Since the passage east of Tolfalas was nearly impassable for any large fleet due to it's dangerous weather and strong waves. the gap between Belfalas and Tolfalas was the only way to reach the mouths of the Anduin. It was this very reason that forced the King of Umbar to order a full scale assault on the city of Methrast, hoping that it's fall would not only bring Belfalas to submission, but also guarantee them full passage into the Bay of Lebennin and the mouths. Reportedly, this attack was planned since the late autumn of 3014 and various troops and vasalls from all over the Kingdom of Umbar and it's allies came to Umbar to prepare such an assault, as this was very unknown for the corsairs, who normally only lead small parties or armies to raid and disrupt Gondor. However due to the ongoing fighting in the Bay of Belfalas, the immense success of Gondor's armies in Harondor, aswell as the recent assault on the umbarian city of Kazdûn by Tolfalas, the king could only muster a fraction of Umbar's true strength, as he originally was able to muster a standing force of 80,000 corsairs, supported by 45,000 vasalls and 30,000 auxiliaries from Near-Harad, to which the 12,000 Men he managed to rally for this battle, paled in comparison to. In response for this he asked Sauron for support, who in turn send him Orcs from Harondor, aswell as Variags from Khand as support. With these armies on his side the King set out to Methrast on the 28th of Nénimë. On the gondorian side, the battle was in fact very much expected and once High Lord Sammahil I. Edhelion heard of hndreds of ships coming his way without attacking anything else on the 1st of Súlimë, he ordered for help for the remaining troops in Annandil, Celond and Celondor, who weren't fighting at the coasts or in eastern Gondor, to march for Methrast straight, however by the time of the battle less than half of them had arrived as some had to travel over 500 miles and could not cover that distance in the 9 days leading up to the battle even with the astounding coverage o nearly twenty miles a day, as they received the news on the 3rd of Súlimë. Battle Battlefield & terrain Troop deployment Storming the beach Gondor cavalry attack Main umbar assault Orc movements First Gondor retaliation Ship fights Second Gondor retaliation The burning Aftermath Numbers of Methrast Casualties Gondor Umbar